One of the best parts of Paul A. Young’s new Soho shop is the huge basement kitchen which extends under two neighbouring shops. That not only allows Paul and his expanding team to make more chocolates, but also gives him more room to experiment and create new products, practically every week.

So where last week we had a Soreen Malt Loaf truffle (which Paul tells me are coming back), this week we have Bakewell Tart ‘dessert chocolate’ domes. Paul calls them dessert chocolates, because they’re big enough to eat as an entire dessert. Which is just how all chocolates should be, of course.

As you can see, the format is not very tart-like.

Paul has created a dark chocolate dome topped with toasted almonds. Inside is a marzipan ganache with more toasted almonds and a raspberry reduction base.

Sounds great, but these things are designed to be eaten rather than photographed, which is why mine looks a bit of a mess…

But we’re used to making a mess round here. It’s the taste that’s important, and it doesn’t disappoint. The ganache is fresh and soft, with just a hint of marzipan, and the raspberry reduction is sharp and fruity.

The almonds add a bit of a crunch and some flavour, but it’s the combination of fruit and marzipan ganache that really makes this for me.

The catch is that it doesn’t quite capture the essence of a real bakewell tart. Perhaps that’s because I’m so used to the idea of a cherry bakewell that the raspberry flavour doesn’t bring back quite the same childhood memories. Thorntons have a bakewell tart flavour chocolate coming out soon that really does capture that essence, albeit in a solid block of chocolate.

But regardless of how close it is to the real thing, this is another chocolate worth seeking out. Just make sure you have a napkin to hand when eating one, as they’re kind of messy to eat! And if you really like Bakewell Tart, stay tuned as we’ll be reviewing a completely different take on the old classic later this week!

Information

Buy it online from:

PaulAYoung.co.uk – Paul does not have an online shop, but if you contact him through the web site, he may be able to take orders for delivery.

Comments On This Post

Being a true northerner I have to correct you Dom – my desert pudding is based on a traditional Derbyshire Bakewell pudding – not the imposter that is Mr Kipling’s Bakewell Tart (however nice those glace cherries are!)

The Thornton’s one is out already, I had it a few days ago. I found it very marzipany and cherryish. The texture was a bit gritty. The chocolate was lost amongst the other strong flavours. Granted, there’s no chocolate in a bakewell tart, so if they were trying to recreate the taste of bakewell tart, then they did that pretty well, but I wanted it to be more “chocolate flavoured with bakewell”. Still enjoyable though, I’d probably buy it again as past of the 3 for £5 offer. (Still prefer Tonka Bean and White bars)

Interesting – I’ve tried a couple of different “pre-release” versions of the Thorntons bar, and loved it in spite / because of those flavours. I agree the chocolate was lost, but it brought back the childhood memories flooding back.

I suppose it’s fitting that Thorntons would come up with a version of the Mr Kipling cherry bakewell and Paul’s would be based on the real thing. :)